costs and stagnant wages are an illusion, we've been told that climate change is a hoax, and that tough talk and an ill-conceived war can replace diplomacy, and strategy, and foresight. and when all else fails, when katrina happens, or the death toll in iraq mounts, we've been told that our crises are somebody else's fault. we're distracted from our real failures, and told to blame the other party, or gay people, or immigrants. and as people have looked away in disillusionment and frustration, we know what's filled the void. the cynics, and the lobbyists, and the special interests who've turned our government into a game only they can afford to play. they write the checks and you get stuck with the bills, they get the access while you get to write a letter, they think they own this government, but we're here today to take it back.

the time for that politics is over. it is through. it's time to turn the page. right here and right now. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting "obama"] >> thank you. thank you. thank you. we've made some progress already. i was proud to help lead the fight in congress that led to the most sweeping ethics reform since watergate. but washington has a long way to go. and it won't be easy. that's why we'll have to set priorities. we'll have to make hard choices. and although government will play a crucial role in bringing about the changes we need, more

money and programs alone will not get us where we need to go. each of us, in our own lives will have to accept responsibility for instilling an ethic of achievement in our children, for adapting to a more competitive economy, for strengthening our communities, and sharing some measure of sacrifice. so let us begin. let us begin this hard work together. let us transform this nation. let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. let's set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. let's recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. let's make college more affordable, and let's invest in scientific research, and let's lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and

rural towns all across america. we can do that. and as our economy changes let's be the generation that ensures our nation's workers are sharing in our prosperity. let's protect the hard-earned benefits their companies have promised. let's make it possible for hardworking americans to save for retirement. and let's allow our unions and their organizers to lift up this country's middle-class again. we can do that. let's be the generation that ends poverty in america. every single person willing to work should be able to get job training that leads to a job and earn a living wage that can pay the bills, and afford child care so their kids have a safe place to go when they work. we can do this. let's be the generation that finally tackles our health care crisis. we can control costs by focusing

on prevention, by providing better treatment to the chronically ill, and using technology to cut the bureaucracy. let's be the generation that says right here, right now, that we will have universal health care in america by the end of the next president's first term. we can do that. [applause] >> let's be the generation that finally frees america from the tyranny of oil. we can harness homegrown alternative fuels like ethanol and spur the production of more fuel-efficient cars. we can set up a system for capping greenhouse gases. we can turn this crisis of global warming into a moment of opportunity for innovation, and job creation, and an incentive for businesses that will serve as a model for the world. let's be the generation that makes future generations proud of what we did here. most of all, let's be the

generation that never forgets what happened on that september day and confront the terrorists with everything we've got. politics doesn't have to divide us on this anymore we can work together to keep our country safe. i've worked with republican senator dick lugar to pass a law that will secure and destroy some of the world's deadliest, weapons. we can work together to track terrorists down with a stronger military, we can tighten the net around their finances, and we can improve our intelligence capabilities. and finally get homeland security right. but let us also understand that ultimate victory against our enemies will come only by rebuilding our alliances and exporting those ideals that bring hope and opportunity to millions around the globe. we can do those things. but all of this cannot come to pass until we bring an end to this war in iraq.

most of you know i opposed this war from the start. i thought it was a tragic mistake. today we grieve for the families who have lost loved ones, the hearts that have been broken and the young lives that could have been. america, it's time to start bringing our troops home. it's time to admit that no amount of american lives can resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else's civil war. that's why i have a plan that will bring our combat troops home by march of 2008. letting the iraqis know that we will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the sunni and shia to come to the table and find peace. there is one other thing that is not too late to get right about this war and that is the homecoming of the men and women our veterans

who have sacrificed the most. let us honor their valor by providing the care they need and rebuilding the military they love. let us be the generation that begins this work. i know there are those who don't believe we can do all these things. i understand the skepticism. after all, every four years, candidates from both parties make similar promises, and i expect this year will be no different. all of us running for president will travel around the country offering ten-point plans and making grand speeches; all of us will trumpet those qualities we believe make us uniquely qualified to lead the country. but too many times, after the election is over, and the confetti is swept away, all those promises fade from memory, and the lobbyists and the special interests move in, and people turn away, disappointed as before, left to struggle on their own. that is why this campaign can't

only be about me. it must be about us it must be about what we can do together. this campaign must be the occasion, the vehicle, of your hopes, and your dreams. it will take your time, your energy, and your advice to push us forward when we're doing right, and to let us know when we're not. this campaign has to be about reclaiming the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of common purpose, and realizing that few obstacles can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change. by ourselves, this change will not happen. divided, we are bound to fail. but the life of a tall, gangly self-made springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible. he tells us that there is power in words. he tells us that there is power in conviction. that beneath all the differences

of race and region, faith and station, we are one people. he tells us that there is power in hope. as lincoln organized the forces arrayed against slavery, he was heard to say: "of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought to battle through." that is our purpose here today. that's why i'm in this race. not just to hold an office, but to gather with you to transform a nation. i want to win that next battle for justice and opportunity. i want to win that next battle for better schools, and better jobs, and health care for all. i want us to take up the unfinished business of perfecting our union, and building a better america. and if you will join me in this improbable quest, if you feel destiny calling, and see as i see, a future of endless possibility stretching before us; if you sense, as i sense

that the time is now to shake off our slumber, and slough off our fear, and make good on the debt we owe past and future generations, then i'm ready to take up the cause, and march with you, and work with you. together, starting today, let us finish the work that needs to be done, and usher in a new birth of freedom on this earth. thank you very much, everybody. let's get to work. i love you. thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> you are watching c-span's special president's day program on presidential campaign announcements. watch all of our coverage of past presidential campaigns claudeing speeches and debates at our web site. >> this week while congress is in recess, book tv and american history tv are in prime time beginning tuesday night at 8:00 eastern, book tv features programs on topics like the war on terror, the green berets and guantanamo diary.

the egyptian revolution and the emerging crisis in europe. on thursday, politics and the white house from the afterwords programs. happen then on friday, biographies of robert e. lee and joseph stalin. and on american history tv on c-span 3 tuesday night at 8:00 interviews with former korean p.o.w.'s. on wednesday the 100th anniversary of the of the release of the film "the birth of the nation." the showing of the film followed by a rae air of our call in program. and thursday, historians debate the social chings of the 1970's in new york city. and fridayion japanese american internment during world war ii. book tv and american history tv this week in prime time. >> coming up on c-span a look at how president's legacy is

being shaped six years into his presidency. then a discussion on hillary clinton and what the political future my hold for her in 2016. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] journal" continues. host: our first guest of the morning is jon ward of yahoo! news. he put out a recent story on how barack obama was to be the ronald reagan of the left. good morning. before we get to the details of a story, talk about hot came to be. guest: it's funny to go back and see how these stories become ideas that you pursue. i was at a holiday party in december, two months ago. i had a conversation with a coworker's husband, and we had this conversation about obama and what his legacy will be. he ran through, and about 30 seconds, about how obama given

in an economic recession, the economy has rebounded, and that is what he will be remembered for. i thought, this is interesting i wonder if that is how it will be. what is the argument as to how he will be remembered. i went on to report and thick about one what are the main factors that will play into that. host: you tired your story, this idea of one is you create -- of wanting to get credit for the economic rebound. then you bring up ronald reagan. what is the parallel? guest: i used to work at huffington post. i was watching this interview that and eggs colleague was doing. he started talking about how obama was really ancients and worried there from the one in 2012, he would get credit for the way that the economy is rebounding. he went on to say that in their

view since 1980, the economy rebounded under reagan, and that dictated the terms over political term over what is effective policy for the last three decades. that is the white house's view of the spirit their hope is that the economy rebounding under their administration will reset economic policy, and basically give more credence to liberal ideas on economics. in the same way that i guess you could say trickle-down economics, and tax breaks was bolstered under reagan. host: even though some of the work was done under reagan, we believe in this country for a long time that less government and less taxes is good for economic growth. we have been battling that conception. democrats say, we want to change that field. host: that plays into the way tha obama sees himself as an iconic

president. sort of a kennedy type figure. it will be more than a walk to the park to get s this credit. host: why also the concentration on the economy when he argued has health care on the list russian mar question? guest: a much more civil metric is the economy, did people get jobs. host: this idea of comparing to reagan, what is the specific question mark how does that play out? guest: they hope that the economy does not have another recession. that there is no further pickups economically. i think after that, they will have to make the argument -- we go through some of the things that they will have to argue on. it is hard for them because they have done a time to spur a huge

recovery. i think what they can say is that they came in, continue some of bush's policies, whether it is the stimulus or auto bailout . i think they can credibly say that they continue those things to keep the economy from cratering further, and created an environment in which the economy could recover. i think the question then is it the policy since then have helped her slowed recovery. host: how ronald reagan wants to be the -- how obama wants to be the ronald reagan of the left. that is the story. if you questions about the president, his economic policies, how he spells e sales those, now's your chance to do so. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 four democrats. (202) 745-8002 for independents.

they get us known on twitter and facebook as well. we are showing you a bit of rhetoric, we have a speech from the president talking about reese economics. we will show that to you. [video clip] >> we have come a long way the past six years since we suffered the worst financial crisis since the great depression. this morning, we found out that american businesses added another 200 xt thousand jobs. [applause] in 2014, our economy created more than 3.1 million jobs. that is the best. of economic growth since the 90's. all told, after the past 59 months the private sector has added about 11 million -- 11.8 million, almost 12 million jobs.

that is the longest streak of private-sector job growth in our history. host: anything with context the want to apply the that? guest: whenever you talk about adding jobs, for the economy to keep going, on the way it is supposed to go, let's talk about 2-3% growth, you have to jobs to offset those who leave the workforce. a large degree of the recovery has been cyclical. any time the economy doesn't die, it will come back at some point. the other thing -- there are a lot of people who have stopped looking for work. the true unemployment rate, people say it is much higher than the 5.7% that it is that right now.

the pool of people looking for work has shrunk as well. that's as the number of people are working. the other thing, we can probably get to this later, born comes to the recovery, a big part of liquidity coming back into the market, and wealth in created it has been through the federal reserve policy. keeping it just rates low. that has allowed washington to do very well. for stocks to do very well. the inequality has increased under this president because a lot of wealth has been going to the most wealthy in the country. host: does the president talk about specific such as spelling out the auto industry question mark are the direct parallels? guest: it is hard to argue that the auto bailouts, they did cost taxpayers money, but they also

kept alive people and jobs. an industry is doing well the moment. the president will talk about those. he is not talking about them now. i think will be part of this larger argument towards the end of his presidency, and beyond. host: jon ward is with us. our first call is mark from ohio on the independent line. go ahead. caller: good morning. i just wanted to tell jon ward to make sure when he refers to ronald reagan -- host: go ahead. mark from ohio, are you still there? go ahead. caller: i wanted to make sure the jon ward was aware that president during his eight years, raise taxes on the american people of other times. he also was responsible for taking 2.5 trillion dollars from

social security and leaving with an iou. he also, the last thing when he was in office, the national deficit was the third highest in american history. so, make sure that he gets credit for all those. guest: some of those numbers, i do not know they are exactly true. he did raise taxes. a big frustration among conservatives with reagan is that he came in, talked about reducing the size of government, and cutting government, but government continue to grow. i think what dan pfeiffer in the white house are talking about is that obama did come in and cut taxes. the famous legacy of reagan is the last recur. he famously true on the back of a napkin, and talked about trickle-down economics, cutting taxes, giving more money to the

taxpayer, and the money will trickle-down as business is allowed to grow and employ more people. that is sort of the theory. whether we are trying to mount if you raise taxes . that is the theory that dominate economic policy. host: our next caller from goose creek, carolina. democrats line. caller: i just have one question. that is how do we compare the president, barack obama, with ronald reagan? i do not understand. guest: it's a good question. i think it is a straightforward answer. you have these presents. i heard some callers from the previous segment tiny about linda johnson nixon, jimmy carter. those are three great examples

of the modern president in the of imagery. i think you do not want to be remembered as one of those presents. i'm not saying if that is right or wrong. i'm saying that is the weight of politics in washington, and our media culture has built up presence. they are remembered, often times in one word, or to ideas. you have kennedy and reagan. these of the kinds of presence that president obama wants to be remembered as. and the national collective consciousness, just sort of the way you remember them at the job of a hat, they are thought of as great. these other presidents are not. there is a lot of debate. i'm reading a lot of jimmy carter right now for books i'm working on. he is a fastening guy -- fascinating guy. president obama is obviously fixate on how he is remembered. host: ultimately, this will go

to messaging as far as how the presence of accomplishment are delivered. guest: that will be a large part of it. host: from maryland, and independent. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i think that the president's legacy will be remembered as a president that was very good for this country. if you look at history under democratic and republican presidents just look at the empirical evidence and the economy and what has happened. also, the fact that we've had so much obstructions. i think that if he had had people working with them, the

economy would have b spurted a lot faster. people say that democrats want all government, and republicans want to work which is the private sector and the rich, you need to have both. the government may not create jobs, but they provide the environment for jobs to be created. guest: that was a good argument. i wouldn't know what to say to that except, when it comes to -- if there was less obstruction. i think the problem that thought is that the two sides have had such different ideas about what would spur, and will spur, and does burn economic growth. i think that is really the heart of the debate going forward. i think over time, we get a certain amount data that will help us reach certain

conclusions. that is a frustrating element of this debate. it is so complex. people can take information to support their point of view. my cuts to health care and health care law when it comes to dodd frank, the financial regulation bill, a number of other policies, the argument from the right is that there has been too much regulation and too much uncertainty in the tax code. all that has created an environment where businesses have not been hiring. from the left, there are theories on increasing demand on people were able to stay unemployed. this is a debate. we are already 30 seconds into the debate, at a level and which most people lose interest.

i think that is why the messaging part of it will be a major focus. host: for the last couple of the weeks we have heard about middle class economics. is our way of civil find the message and helping to build a legacy on this issue? 's guest:'s he was the this term middle-class incessantly into thousand 12. obama had talks on equality about one year ago and got away from it, and is now talking more about middle-class because for one thing, inequality has increased, but also middle-class is how most feel think about themselves. honestly, if we boiled down the debate to which words we use, we will not make much progress. we need people to engage more than that. i do think him using the term of the class allows him to broaden the appeal. host: jon ward from yahoo! news talking about president obama's economic policies.

i from pennsylvania, republican line. caller: good morning. i think this is the niche is the point i would make is from senator donald patrick monahan who worked for these presents. he said, you cannot judge administration until at least 10 years until it is over. and then there are two criteria the account. did american interest increased domestically? did american interest increased internationally. go i suspect that this administration will be remembered about the same way that the carter administration is remembered. some very good ideas that never came to fruition. i suspect that we are also going to discover the internal combat within the democratic party had an awful lot to do with how things rolled out. i will hang up and listen. guest: very thoughtful.

i think is absolutely correct that there's so much that you do not know about how the president plays out that takes time for it to roll out. i alluded to this a second ago. there is so much data that we will have to see how it plays out in terms of the impact of some of these policies. the comparison to carter is an interesting one. it is one that has been made. basically, i think that the took office, they do share some temperamental characteristics. they are both more pro-for soil -- more academic, and both have been hindered by a lackluster outreach to the hill. this president president carter never really clicked with washington in the hill. this president has not shown a ton of interest in reaching out to even member of this -- even

members of his own party on the hill. host: james, you're next. caller: yes. mr. ward, i am baffled by your comparison. ronald reagan did not get the blowback that mitch mcconnell from the beginning put on barack obama. just imagine. i ask you to imagine. had he been willing to reverse that statement, and say, yes, we will work with the president the changes that would have been made would have been phenomenal. had he not made the statement at the beginning of the presidency, please tell me how you would compare that with ronald reagan when he was open accept it with open arms as americans hero i both

republicans and democrats. thank you. guest: it's true. tip o'neill, the speaker during reagan's presidency, they were together very well. it's true that mitch mcconnell made that comment, i think in 2009. saying that it was their job to make him a one term president. i think the critique of this president is that whatever the degree of obstruction from the hill, there is still only one president in town. yes, it may be difficult. but coming up to where it takes to work together. it may be that i was never going to happen, it was impossible. i think the main critique has been that when it comes to really making maxim effort to make that happen, before saying that it is impossible, that maximum effort in the eyes of

many critics was not there. it is interesting. people keep coming back to this. this seems to be an enduring observation about this time in washington. supporters for the present hobbies feel like this wasn a major impediment to his success. host: wait five economic recovery in your piece, once you talk about his oil. how does that play into a? guest: another thing about thinking through this piece is i remember being in st. louis and june, 2012. i was covering mitt romney when he is running for president. there was a fundraiser the ritz-carlton in downtown st. louis. this was about the same time that his message was that the president was ruining the country and economy. all of the standard lines you hear from a challenger.

he was quoting from a call and written by david nation us that road about how domestic energy reduction in u.s. was exploding. fast-forward a couple of years and we've seen that happen. domestic energy production has i think doubled. we are on track to become, some say the saudi arabia of the world in terms of our energy production. due in large part to fracking. energy has played a huge role helping our economy gains steam. i was wondering when i started working on this, how much of factor that was. it turns out it is hard to quantify what role it has played in the recovery. i talked to a guy who has studied this and his estimate was about .5 points of gdp growth. it is significant, but not

definitive. host: from stillwater minnesota, the independent line. up next is derek did go ahead. caller: good morning. i guess i'm a little confused about anything that i would see with obama and reagan next. it just does not look right. i guess my comment would be if i were to play into theme, what do we have, i bet you the nation would have thought that reagan was the most trustworthy president. where do we look at our president today? he is probably the most deceitful when it comes to directly lines people to pass laws. as we know with the aca. he uses political capture gold -- political capital to tear up p apart and consolidate the

health-care care industry. that was passed pretty much 100% democrats versus any other vote. the bipartisanship and the distrust that has been done here, he has not unify the country. reagan was so intention that he actually helped free people in germany. this president indeed could, he would probably lock up 20% of the people in america. guest: it's striking to be how for a lot of people is hard to stomach, especially their conservatives or break in france, to stomach the idea of the comparison. i think would be helpful to say

the comparison that i'm try to work with here is not one of qualities. you have to take it out of the realm of qualities and attributes. and look more towards the realm of impacts. that's what the obama white house is talking about. they are talking about impact. size and the way it which you are remembered in history. being a big figure in history. i think if you have, particularly conservative ideas, and if you think obama has been an effective president, you don't have the stuff thinking that, but you have to set that aside in your assessment and try to see it from the way the white house sees it. in terms of impact. one thing that caller was pointing out maybe think of -- things generally in the 80's, after grim. in the 70's, were pretty positive.

we did have a lot of success. that does color the way that reagan was remembered and perceived. i don't think you can -- this is not necessarily obama's fault, necessarily, but it has been a grammar. under him. -- a grimmer period under him. it has been difficult. host: will the length of this recovery dictate how well this president is remembered? guest: that is a big part of this debate. did the recovery takes long because of his policies or was that the way that the recovery was destined to happen because of the depth of the recession? actually, there was a study that bill clinton cited, written by the same economist who came up with this study that has become controversial that says that

debt had a great impact on economic growth. the name escapes the right now but they are very well-known economist. this study that they talk about said that, i'm summarizing, but it is we said that when the recession is so deep, that inevitably lengthens the grade of the uptake in the recovery. that will be the argument. host: from california, democrat lie. line. caller: good morning, gentlemen. i listen to the first caller and he was exactly right. reagan raise taxes 11 times. i think the biggest thing that congress and the president needs to focus on is the middle class. for the last caller, when he said president obama has lied to

america, i want to bring you back to the last president who lied us into the iraq war. after 9/11. more people died, more of our troops died in iraq then all the people who died in 9/11. not to mention millions of iraqis. i guess that's all i have to say. it really burns -- guest: i like how you look right at me. obviously, politicians are not always truthful. there is a debate over whether bush lied. i think that is probably not the correct way to say about the war. some people would say he lied

about the weapons of mass destruction. that is a huge debate. there was a lot of intelligence that would say that they thought it was there, and they are wrong about it. as far as the aca and obama's truthfulness about that, i'm trying to think right now if there's ever been evidence -- i believe there has been evidence that they knew that there would be massive changes that they were not cheerful about. i think reducing everything to this present life, this president does not lie, it probably does not help us have the most constructive debate. if you want to get into each subject, that is worth doing. host: let's talk about looking at 2016 and getting your thoughts on a couple of things in the papers this morning, if you do not mind. when it comes to the clinton campaign, someone will possibly be part of that came campaign.

your thoughts on him joining the team. what it says about the seriousness of what mrs. clinton might do if she does run. and what it says about how she will badger campaign. guest: i think that quote is key. that was a huge weakness of the thousand eight campaign. even though obama was a transformative figure. in all this talk of his legacy, one of the fee will be remembered for is being america's first african-american president. that is a bigger club is on his part and a big part of why he was a seminal figure that kind of overwhelmed hillary early on in 2008. after he overwhelmed her in iowa, there was a long drawnout

primary. hillary's campaign was come completely -- was completely unprepared for a fight with delegates. unprepared and then fractures internally. i think both of those things will not be mistakes that she makes this time. of course, does not look like she will have much of a primary challenge. in terms of internal discipline and internal focus and efficiency, that is a big part of what john podesta does. another piece is that john is of the left. he is certainly a progressive. he is not of the bill clinton new democrat, or conservative democrats goal. that is sort of interesting what we think about how hillary will navigate this path forward when it comes to the war and we never partied pulling her left, but with the need to stay moderate on some things. that will be adjusting.

host: the piece also talks about how he is ruthless in the way he conducts things. sometimes that is not a quality seen as a democratic operative i am paraphrasing. guest: he does not come off as ruthless in person. he is certainly calculating. he knows -- he is sort of like cheney, in the sense that he is been around washington for a long time and knows how to operate within and among the levers of power. host: jon ward with yahoo! news is our guest talking about a lot of things -- he has recently written on how the obama administration hopes to capitalize on the economic recovery and other things as well. yahoo! news. how long has it been a new sur news service? guest: